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Those
Who Tell Workers to Sacrifice
Fail to Understand Postal Realities
(11/17/09) As the Postal Service struggles with severe financial losses, postal
pundits say workers must lower their expectations for wages, benefits, and working
conditions in order to help return the USPS to solvency, APWU President William
Burrus notes in an Update for union members. But those who tell workers
to sacrifice fail to understand postal realities, he says. [read
more]
Caught
Like a Burglar With the Goods in Hand
(11/04/09) The union’s challenge to Postmaster General Potter
to set the wages of mail-processing employees at an amount that is
less than the worksharing discounts major mailers enjoy has generated
several flawed responses by mailing industry officials, APWU President
William Burrus reports in an Update for
union members. [read more]
The
Challenge: Postal Wages and Discounts
(10/30/09) In an effort to influence contract negotiations, the postmaster
general and spokesmen for major mailers have repeatedly suggested
that postal employees’ wages
and benefits are excessive, APWU President William Burrus said in an Update for
union members. The claims are spurious, but to settle the matter, the union president
issued a challenge. [read
more]
Congress
Must Fix Funding Requirement;
USPS Must Expand Goals, Burrus Says
(10/27/09) In a follow-up to testimony before a Senate subcommittee, APWU President
William Burrus explored alternatives to station-and-branch closures, facility
consolidations, and five-day mail delivery — which the Postal Service
is proposing in reaction to a severe financial crisis. [read
more]
President's Viewpoint
USPS Policies Threaten Postal Viability
New Heights –
Of Absurdity – In
Rate Setting
(10/26/09) The American Postal Workers Union has waged
a continuing battle against the exorbitant rate reductions afforded
large mailers and consolidators under the misguided premise that such “worksharing” practices
are good for business. A label far more appropriate than “worksharing” would
be “a postal subsidy extended to big business at the expense
of American citizens.” Postmaster General John E. Potter repeatedly
expresses his concern that individual mailers are abandoning the use
of hard-copy mail for personal communication in favor of computer-driven
transactions, yet his policies force them to subsidize commercial mailings
every time they use a 44-cent stamp. [read
more]
APWU
Issues a Challenge
(10/14/09) The Postal Service’s precarious financial condition has prompted
APWU President William Burrus to issue a challenge to Postmaster General Potter:
Discontinue the exorbitant postage discounts that are offered to large mailers — which
are currently as high as 10.5 cents per letter — and allow members of the
APWU to perform all mail-processing functions at the rate of 10.4 cents for every
letter and flat. “Postal rate-setters continually defend excessive ‘worksharing
discounts,’ suggesting that they are good for business,” Burrus said. “But
in reality, they are subsidies for big business.
[read
more]
Mailing
Industry Executives
Tell Workers To Sacrifice
Are Their Profits Sacred?
(10/14/09) Postal unions realize that Congress’ vote last month to give
the USPS just a one-year reprieve from a crushing financial obligation means
additional legislative action will be needed to help the Postal Service remain
viable, APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members. So
it was no surprise to hear that representatives of trade groups for major mailers
say the legislature may be compelled to address postal reform again. It was shocking,
however, to read that the president of the Association for Postal Commerce suggests
that “the time has come for postal employees to start sharing some of the
sacrifices.” [read
more]
Unusual
Areas
of Agreement
(10/07/09) The Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation,
a conservative think tank, and the APWU rarely see eye-to-eye; but a
recent exchange of letters between IRET Senior Economist Michael Schuyler
and union President William Burrus found some common ground. The exchange
began when Burrus praised an article by Schuyler “for the thorough
review of the state of the United States Postal Service, and the comparison
to private companies of a similar size. Your analysis challenges the
popular view that government agencies are inherently inefficient,” Burrus
wrote. [read more]
Postal ‘Reform’ Advocates
Attempt to Misdirect
the Public’s Attention
(09/14/09) Postal “reform” advocates who claim that labor
agreements are a major contributor to the Postal Service’s expected
deficit of $7 billion in Fiscal Year 2009 are attempting to divert attention
from the colossal blunder, APWU President William Burrus asserts in an
Update for Union Members.
[read
more]
House to Vote Soon on Postal Relief Bill
(09/11/09) The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon — perhaps
as early as Tuesday, Sept. 15 — on legislation that would provide
the USPS with short-term relief from severe financial difficulties. APWU
President William Burrus is urging union members to contact their representatives
and ask them to support the measure. “We must act quickly," he
said. "Without relief, the USPS will run soon out of money.” [read
more]
USPS Releases New List
Of Stations Targeted for Closure
Union Develops Action Plan to Oppose Closures
(09/03/09) The Postal Service announced
Sept. 2 that it has reduced to 413 the number of stations and branches currently
under consideration for closure. Locals are cautioned, however, that the list
remains in flux. A USPS News Release reported that the list, which it filed
with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), “does not represent
a final decision on consolidation.” The Postal Service has provided
various lists to the Postal Regulatory Commission, congressional
panels and the union with numbers ranging from 3,200 (corrected on
Aug. 28 to 3,600) to 677 (corrected on Aug. 28 to 750) to 413. [read
more]
Union
Refutes
Wall Street Journal Editorial
(09/02/09) It came as no surprise that a Wall Street Journal editorial
outlining the Postal Service’s financial difficulties concluded
that the USPS should be privatized, but since the column was riddled
with inaccuracies, APWU President William Burrus fired back. [read
more]
The
Big Lie:
Postal Arbitrators and
The Cause of the USPS Crisis
(08/28/09) A review of 39 years of collective
bargaining refutes a myth that has been circulating in the “postal
community,” APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for
union members: The tale suggests that the collective bargaining
process is in need of major repair because arbitrators require the Postal
Service to pay unreasonable wages.
[read
more]
President's Viewpoint
Can We Help the Postal Service?
(08/24/09) The Postal Service’s financial difficulties are
a frequent topic of discussion among union members, and recently I
have received several suggestions about ways employees can help the
USPS remain solvent. Most of the ideas involve efforts to increase
mail volume by promoting letter-writing campaigns or other activities.
A submission by Todd Manganello (of the Baton Rouge Local) to Ask
the President on the union’s Web site suggested a stamp-buying
lottery aimed at increasing use of the Postal Service by individuals. [read more]
Story
in Mailers’ Publication Pointedly
Misses the Point About Postal
Salaries
(08/21/09) In yet another attempt to promote the myth that postal
employees are not deserving of their collectively-bargained salaries,
APWU President William Burrus writes in an Update for union members,
a business-mailers’ organization has published a fact-error-riddled
story comparing salaries of USPS Electronic Technicians with ETs in the
Federal Aviation Administration. [read
more]
USPS Station and Branch Closures
Burrus: ‘Short-Sighted’ Strategy
Will Mean Long-Term Damage
(08/19/09) In a follow-up to recent testimony before a House subcommittee,
APWU President William Burrus explored alternatives to station-and-branch
closures, which the Postal Service is planning in reaction to a severe
financial crisis. “Closing and consolidating post offices based
on recession-level volume is short-sighted, and will leave the Postal
Service with an infrastructure unable to accommodate the larger volume
of mail that will be generated by a more robust economy,” Burrus
wrote Aug. 13. [read
more]
APWU Responds to New York Times Column
(08/13/09) When a business columnist for the venerable New York
Times wrote an article outlining the Postal Service’s financial
difficulties and concluded that the USPS should be privatized, APWU President
William Burrus fired back. In a letter to the editor, the union president
disputed the suggestion that the cause of the Postal Service’s
current financial crisis is the diversion of mail to the Internet and
e-mail. He pointed out that the crisis is the fault of the 2006 postal “reform” law,
which requires the USPS to pre-fund retiree healthcare costs. [read
more]
Burrus:
USPS Rate Policies Add to Fiscal Woes
(08/11/09) During a question-and-answer session at a recent Senate
subcommittee hearing, APWU President William Burrus outlined the union’s
objections to an amendment to a bill that would help the USPS recover
from its fiscal woes and pointed out that the Postal Service’s
rate policies have encouraged the growth of a private-sector mail-processing
network. In an Update for union members, the union president compares
postal salaries to workshare discounts, and blasts the USPS for establishing
a flawed postage rate system.
[read
more]
Vote Delayed on Bill
To Undermine Pay and Benefits
Grassroots Action Campaign Extended
(08/10/09) The Senate adjourned for its August recess without voting
on a bill that would be devastating for postal workers. As a result,
union members have several more weeks to voice opposition to legislation
that would undermine our wages and benefits in future contract negotiations.
“If this bill passes as written it will destroy collective bargaining for postal workers, jeopardizing our cost- of-living increases, raises, and protection against layoffs, APUW President William Burrus told union members July 30. [read more]
Give-and-Take
On the Coburn Amendment
(08/06/09) In a question-and-answer session following the Aug. 6
testimony before the Senate subcommittee, APWU President William Burrus
and NALC President Fredric Rolando were asked why postal unions object
to the amendment to S. 1507 that was offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).
The union leaders had testified that arbitrators routinely consider USPS
financial circumstances during contract deliberations, so senators wondered
what the problem was with making it a matter of law. [read
more]
Burrus: Amendment Assesses
‘A Tax on
Postal Workers’
Senate Bill Would
Destroy Collective Bargaining
(08/06/09) In testimony before
a Senate subcommittee, APWU President William Burrus denounced
a provision of Senate bill 1507, which he said would destroy the
collective bargaining process.
Although the postal community — including APWU — initially had high hopes for the legislation, which was intended to alleviate a severe financial crisis, an amendment to the bill made it unacceptable to postal workers, he said. [read more]
Station
and Branch Closures:
Burrus: 'Acts of Surrender'
(07/31/09)
Closing stations and branches and reducing mail delivery to
five days per week “will
unquestionably have a negative effect on the postal monopoly,” APWU
President William Burrus told a House subcommittee at a hearing July
30. Such actions “will impede
the Postal Service’s ability to compete” when the economy
rebounds, he said.
[read
more]
Union Calls for Campaign
To Defeat Anti-Postal Worker Senate Bill
Teleconference Set for Aug. 3
(07/30/09) APWU President William Burrus has called on APWU locals
and state organizations to organize opposition to a Senate bill that
contains a provision that would be devastating to postal workers. The
Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Funding Reform Act of 2009 (S.
1507) was intended to provide temporary financial relief to the cash-strapped
Postal Service, but an amendment to the bill has rendered it unacceptable
to postal workers.
[read
more] | [APWU
News Bulletin #01-2009]
Burrus:
Postal Decision-Makers Are Off the Mark
(07/30/09) Saying that he
has long been “skeptical” about
whether the increased use of electronic communication is to blame for
the Postal Service’s economic woes, APWU President William Burrus
told lawmakers July 29 that “It is imperative that postal decision-makers
correctly identify the cause of the reduction in volume and the trends
that will drive future communication.” [read
more]
APWU:
Amendment to Senate Bill Hurts Workers
Lieberman, Carper
Join Republicans to
Support Changes
(07/29/09) An amendment to a bill to provide short-term, temporary
financial relief to the cash-strapped Postal Service was adopted by a
Senate ccommittee July 29, rendering the bill unacceptable to the APWU. “We
oppose on principle, legislation that interferes with the collective
bargaining process,” said APWU President William Burrus. [read
more]
APWU Urges Legislators
To Reject Amendments to Senate Bill
(07/27/09) Amendments to a Senate bill providing short-term temporary
financial relief to the USPS would weaken the legislation, harm the Postal
Service, and hurt postal workers, APWU Legislative and Political Director
Myke Reid said. He urged union members to contact their senators if they
serve on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
and ask them to reject the amendments. [read
more]
Quick Action Expected
On Senate Bill to Ease USPS Financial Crisis
(07/27/09) Quick action is expected on a Senate bill that would provide
the Postal Service emergency, short-term financial relief, and APWU
President William Burrus is urging union members to ask their Senators
to support the legislation. The Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits
Funding Reform Act of 2009 (S. 1507), which was introduced by Sen.
Tom Carper (D-DE) on July 23, would restructure the USPS obligation
to pay retiree healthcare benefits, and would generate savings of billions
of dollars over the next several years. [read
more]
Changes and Challenges
(07/14/09) If postal management continues to respond to the current
economic crisis by cutting service and slashing the workforce, it risks
causing the USPS irreparable harm, APWU President William Burrus writes
in an Update for union members. The union president says the
APWU will vigorously enforce the Collective Bargaining Agreement as the
Postal Service implements new cost-cutting measures. Support from the
public and elected officials also are crucial to the survival of the
USPS, he said.
[read more]
APWU
on Five-Day Delivery: Don’t Do It!
(06/22/09) The APWU has given a straightforward response to a USPS
request for input regarding five-day mail delivery: “Don’t
do it!” “The American Postal Workers Union submits in the
strongest possible terms our insistence that the Postal Service refrain
from conversion to five-day delivery,” APWU President William Burrus
wrote on June 18. “The consequences of the proposed change far
outweigh the expected monetary benefits associated with delivery reduction.” [read
more]
Burrus Testifies on Capitol Hill:
To Survive, USPS Must Change Strategy
(05/20/09) In testimony before a House panel May 20, APWU President
William Burrus told lawmakers that if the Postal Service is to survive,
it must re-examine its overall strategy. He emphasized that the need
was urgent for passage of H.R. 22, which would allow the USPS to pay
its share of contributions for annuitants’ health
benefits out of a retirees fund rather than from its operating budget. [read
more]
What’s Wrong …and What Can Be Done
(04/23/09) You certainly have heard about and probably
have witnessed the reduction in mail volume that is taking such
a serious toll on postal revenue. It is important that APWU members
understand that this is not a business-as-usual event that can
be corrected in the short-term. The U.S. Postal Service will have
to fight to remain viable, and we are not likely to see a return
to “normal” for several years. [read
more]
‘Summer
Sale’ Will Discount Our Future
(04/15/09) Major mailers will certainly appreciate the Postal Service’s
plans for a “Summer Sale,” APWU President William Burrus
notes in an Update for union members, but their gratitude will not translate
into a benefit for the Postal Service. And if postage discounts generate
mail volume, why — with giveaways at their zenith — are we
suffering the lowest mail volume in a decade, the union president asks. [read
more]
APWU Capitol Hill Testimony:
Postal
Service’s Economic Crisis
Requires Swift Congressional Action
(03/25/09) APWU President William Burrus told lawmakers March
25 that Congress must act swiftly to avert a collapse of the nation’s
postal system. “The most important thing Congress can do is to
pass H.R. 22, which will provide temporary relief from the crippling
obligation to pre-fund future retiree healthcare costs,” Burrus
said in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce,
Post Office, and the District of Columbia. [read
more]
USPS
Announces New VER,
Management Staff Reductions
(03/20/09) In response to significant deficits caused by a substantial
reduction in mail volume, the Postal Service has requested and received
approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) to 150,000 employees
nationwide, APWU President William Burrus reports in an update for union
members. The application deadlines, effective dates, and the categories
of affected employees will be announced in the near future."Retirement
is a personal matter, and the union defers to the decisions of employees
who meet the qualifications," Burrus said. "However, the APWU
continues to challenge the Postal Service’s authority to offer
VER without including severance pay." [read
more]
APWU
Denounces USPS Rate Proposal
(02/12/09) APWU President William Burrus has denounced the postage
increase proposed by the USPS Feb. 10, declaring, “The planned
rate structure would continue the failed strategies that have brought
the Postal Service to the brink of disaster.”... “Once again
the Postal Service is asking individual customers and small businesses
to subsidize major mailers and mail pre-sorters,” he added. [read
more]
APWU
Blasts USPS Response
To Postal Financial Crisis
(02/10/09) APWU President William Burrus decried Postal Service plans
to address its financial crisis in a letter to the Postmaster General
on Feb. 9. “It is extremely disappointing that not a single step
is aimed at reducing the loss of revenue from ‘worksharing’ discounts
or from subcontracting,” he wrote, referring to a list of steps
the USPS outlined in a Feb. 4 edition of News Link Extra. Burrus
said he is particularly disturbed by USPS plans to consolidate “excess” capacity
in its mail processing and transportation networks while postal policy
encourages the growth of private entities that perform these duties. [read
more]
Postmaster
General's
Testimony Offers Little Insight
(01/29/09) APWU President William Burrus praised the Postmaster
General for asking Congress to relieve the USPS of an onerous obligation
to pre-fund healthcare liabilities, but said the PMG’s testimony
before a Senate subcommittee misstated the cause of the Postal Service’s
financial crisis. In an update for union members, Burrus also
said that other proposals offered by PMG have little chance of preventing
a disaster. [read
more]
Significant
Changes Expected;
Sacrifices Must Be Shared, Burrus Says
(01/23/09) The USPS is expected to implement unprecedented changes
in the near future that will dramatically impact employees, APWU President
William Burrus wrote in an update for union members.But he also
warned that if management wants employees to understand the need for
significant adjustments, sacrifices must be shared by the entire postal
community. [read
more]
It All Adds Up
Declining
Volume,
Killing the Messenger, Excessive Discounts
(01/07/09)
With the Postal Service experiencing a steep decline in mail volume, "it
is doubtful that the Postal Service as we know it can survive" unless Congress
intervenes, APWU President William Burrus said in a recent update for union members.
To save the Postal Service from financial ruin, he said, Congress must repeal
its directive that the USPS pre-fund its retiree healthcare obligations, and
the Postal Service must stop granting excessive postage discounts to major mailers.
The union president also faulted management for its “knee-jerk” response
to the financial crisis and for blaming employees for service failures. [read
more]
Federal
Judge Dismisses
APWU Lawsuit Against Bush
(12/04/08) The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
has dismissed an APWU lawsuit against President George W. Bush and
Postmaster General John E. Potter that sought to compel the appointment
of a Postal Advisory Council. The court’s Nov. 26 ruling concluded
that the postal council, which was authorized by Congress in 1970 under
the terms of the Postal Reorganization Act, was not specifically reauthorized
by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. [read
more]
‘Stakeholders’ Urge Congress
To Give USPS Legislative Relief
(11/20/08) The APWU is part of a group of Postal Service “stakeholders” who
have asked Congress to help the agency during the current nationwide financial
difficulties by giving legislative relief to its retiree health-insurance
liability. [read more]
An
Open Letter to the Postmaster General
(10/22/08) In an open letter to Postmaster General John E. Potter, APWU President
William Burrus wrote, "I take this unusual step of communicating with you
in a public forum because the issues at stake are so important to our country
and to our nation’s dedicated postal employees.... [read
more]
USPS
Financial Difficulties
And the Possibility of Layoffs
(10/03/08) In an Update for union members, APWU President William Burrus
says that although the threat of postal layoffs is real, the USPS’ first-ever
layoffs would affect very few APWU-represented employees. [read
more]
USPS’ Bleak
Financial Picture
And the Presidential Election
(09/30/08) The Postal Service’s looming financial crisis — including
a significant reduction in mail volume and a $2.3 billion deficit — makes
the 2008 election critical for postal employees, APWU President William Burrus
said in an update for union members.
[read more]
Delegates Vow to Fight
Privatization of Parcel Post
(08/25/08) On the final day of the APWU 19th
Biennial Convention, delegates adopted a resolution calling on the union’s
national leadership to “lead and organize resistance to any/all attempts
to privatize the parcel business.” Resolution 161, Fight Privatization
of Parcel Business, also
encouraged union members to urge elected legislators to delay implementation
of any provisions of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
of 2006 that allow for the privatization of postal work. The law requires
Congress to review the underpinnings of the Postal Service, including
universal service, the mailbox monopoly, six-day delivery, and the
postal network. [read more]
State of the Union Address
‘The Very Existence of Our Jobs Is
at Stake’
(08/19/08) In the face of difficult challenges, APWU President William
Burrus told delegates to the union’s convention, “We are armed
with two invaluable weapons: The members of the American Postal Workers
Union and the millions of Americans who will fight for the national
treasure that is the United States Postal Service.”...
|
The nation’s severe economic difficulties and the resultant drop in mail volume are taking their toll, he noted. “The economy is in trouble, and the threat to the future of the Postal Service and to our jobs is real.”
In Fiscal Year 2008, the USPS is expected to suffer a deficit of approximately $1.5 billion, Burrus said, adding that current law prohibits management from recovering losses by raising rates beyond that of the pace of inflation. ...
Making matters worse, he said, postal reform legislation that was enacted in late 2006 requires Congress to review the foundation of the Postal Service, including universal service, the mailbox monopoly, six-day delivery, and the postal network. Burrus pointed out how these reviews are being conducted while postal management continues the disastrous policies of granting excessive workshare discounts and pursues a misguided policy of contracting out postal work.
“Together, we must wage a campaign to preserve mail service for all America’s citizens,” Burrus said. “It will have to be a political campaign, with members reaching out to their communities and their elected officials. We will need every union activist to join in this battle.” [read more]
 |
APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid |
APWU Testimony Assail
Latest ‘USPS Network Plan’
(07/28/08) The Postal Service’s strategy for “network realignment” is
based on a faulty premise, APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid told
lawmakers July 24. The stated objective of the USPS Network Plan is to
promote efficiency by eliminating redundancy, he said. “But the fallacy
of the plan is that it artificially limits the definition of the postal
network. By intentional design, the plan considers only the 400-plus USPS
mail processing facilities to be ‘the network,’ while in reality,
the network consists of both public and private facilities that prepare
mail for delivery by USPS employees.” [read
more]
APWU
Sues Bush Over Failure
To Appoint USPS Advisory Council
(07/17/08) The APWU filed suit against President
George W. Bush and Postmaster General John E. Potter in District Court
July 16 over their failure to appoint a Postal Service Advisory Council,
as required by federal law. “The Postal Service is required to ‘consult
with and receive the advice of the Advisory Council regarding all
aspects of postal operations,’” APWU President William
Burrus wrote in an April 11, 2008, letter to the president. [read
more]
Testimony on Universal Service Obligation
APWU
to PRC: ‘Burden of Proof’
Is on Those Pushing for Change
(07/11/08) Because universal postal service
is still extremely important to the fabric of American life, APWU President
William Burrus said in a public hearing before the Postal Regulatory
Commission, those who seek changes in the postal network or monopoly
should provide unassailable reasons for doing so. [read
more]
APWU to PRC:
Universal Service Still
Of Critical Importance
(07/09/08) The APWU has filed written testimony with the Postal
Regulatory Commission emphasizing that universal postal service is still
extremely important to a significant number of citizens. The union urged
the PRC to “view the questions of access to the mailbox and the
need for universal service through the eyes of the average citizen,” and
noted that, “If the need for postal services were to be viewed
only from a business viewpoint, important access to services might be
curtailed.” [read
more]
High
Gas Prices
Are No Justification for Five-Day Mail Delivery
(07/08/08) Special interest groups have begun to use rising gas
prices as a way to advance their own agenda — under the guise of
reducing the demand for energy, APWU President William Burrus notes in
an Update for union members. Recent proposals to reduce mail delivery
from six days a week to five are a case in point, he says. But these
suggestions represent just another rationale by those who wish to privatize
postal operations. [read
more]
Postal Privatization Scheme
Fails to Deliver in Great Britain
(07/01/08) Postal privatization in the United Kingdom has produced “no
significant benefits” for consumers or small businesses, and has
posed “a substantial threat” to universal service, according
to a preliminary study released in May.
The independent review also found that while large mailers have benefited from the nation’s efforts to “foster competition,” privatization will undermine the Royal Mail, Great Britain’s government-run postal service, which was expected to co-exist with private competitors. [read more]
USPS ‘Network Plan’ Would
Adversely Effect Postal Workers, Service
(06/26/08) The Postal Service’s latest plan to realign its
mail processing, transportation, and retail network “would adversely
affect APWU-represented employees and disrupt mail service to the American
public,” APWU President William Burrus said in an update for union
members. “Regrettably, postal management has developed a business
plan that relies almost exclusively on reducing work hours as a means
of remaining financially solvent,” he noted. “This is a failed
strategy and it cannot sustain America’s mail service.” [read
more]
APWU
Testimony Kicks Off Controversy
(06/02/08) Recent APWU testimony
on Capitol Hill about the Postal Service’s obligation to provide “universal
service” to
all Americans seems to have stirred up a controversy.
Addressing a House subcommittee on May 8, APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid expressed the union’s concern about actions by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), “which has undertaken, through private contractors, to study the Postal Service’s universal service obligation.”
The PRC has hired contractors who favor privatizing essential USPS operations, Reid testified, noting that the individuals selected have expressed hostility to fundamental elements of universal service — the postal monopoly and uniform rates. [read more]
APWU Testimony on Capitol Hill
Postal
Reform Act Is
No Endorsement of Privatization
(05/08/08) The passage of the Postal Accountability
and Enhancement Act in December 2006 did not change the fundamental mission
of the Postal Service, an APWU leader testified on Capitol Hill, and should
not be perceived as justification for privatizing the nation’s mail
system or eliminating its obligation to provide service to all Americans.
Nonetheless, APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid told a congressional panel on May 8, “As we meet here today, there is an active and ongoing effort to dismantle the Postal Service as we know it, to privatize it, and to turn its work over to for-profit companies.” [read more]
Burrus Asks Bush to Appoint
Postal Service Advisory Council
(04/02/08) APWU President William Burrus
has asked President Bush to appoint a Postal Service Advisory Council,
as required by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. Under
the law, the Postal Service must “consult
with and receive the advice of” panel members representing postal
unions and consumers, as well as major mail users, about important
policy and operational decisions. [read
more]
Federal
Court Dismisses APWU Suit
Union Vows to Challenge
USPS Secrecy in Other
Forums
(04/02/08) A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit by the
APWU and the Consumer Alliance for Postal Services (CAPS), which sought
access to the meetings and records of the Postal Service’s Mailers
Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC). The APWU suit alleges that by
excluding representatives of individuals and small businesses, MTAC
violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires the federal
government to give the public access to the meetings and minutes
of agency advisory committees. MTAC is composed exclusively of high-ranking
USPS officials and representatives of large mailers, and portions
of its activities are closed to public scrutiny. [read
more]
PRC
Ruling Exposes Unhealthy Relationship
Between USPS and Influential Mailers
(03/25/08) A recent ruling Postal Regulatory
Commission has concluded that a postage rate increase proposed the USPS includes
an excessive “workshare” discount,
APWU President William Burrus said in a recent update for union members. “The
2008 PRC ruling is Exhibit #1 in exposing the unhealthy relationship between
postal management and influential large mailers,” he added. [read
more]
PRC:
Postage Hike
Exceeds Limit on Worksharing Discounts
(03/25/08) Although a review by the
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of proposed USPS postage increases found
that the rate hikes are within the price cap permitted by 2006 postal reform
legislation, there was another less publicized — but
highly significant — conclusion: The proposed rates include a worksharing
discount that exceeds the limits allowed under the law and amounts to an astounding
557.8 percent of postal savings. [read
more]
Postage Rate Increase
Continues Disturbing Trends
(02/20/08) The postage rate increase recently
announced by the USPS continues the practice of giving excessive discounts
to large mailers at the expense of consumers, APWU President William
Burrus told union members in a recent update. “The trend of converting
the USPS from a public institution that serves all the people,” he
noted, “to one that primarily serves the interests of commercial
mailers continues unabated.” [read more]
APWU Now a Presence
At Mailers’ Advisory Panel Meetings
(01/01/08) The APWU has
prevailed in its efforts to gain admittance to the Mailers Technical
Advisory Committee (MTAC), a panel composed of large mailers that has
been meeting secretly with postal officials to develop long-term plans
for the Postal Service. President William Burrus called the agreement
to allow the union to monitor the organization’s
activities a “major accomplishment for
the APWU.” [read more]
Board of Governors Approves Proposal
That PRC Says Could Cost USPS Millions
(12/12/07) The USPS Board of Governors approved
a Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) on Dec. 11 that had been
sharply criticized by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). In
a ruling issued Oct. 19, the rate commission concluded
that the Postal Service could lose more than $45 million if the proposed
agreement with Bank of America were implemented. Despite the potential
losses, the PRC decided that the proposal could be justified under
the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. [read
more]
A Victory on MTAC
(11/08/07) ...Burrus also announced that the
union had prevailed in its efforts to gain admittance to the Mailers Technical
Advisory Committee, a panel composed of large mailers that meets secretly
with postal officials to develop long-term plans for the Postal Service.
He called the agreement a “major accomplishment for the union.” Every piece of equipment
that postal employees interact with and every major management initiative — including
network consolidation — began in the Mailers Technical Advisory
Committee, Burrus said. “This is the group making the plans for
tomorrow’s United States Postal Service,” Burrus said, “and
we only find out what their plans are once they are willing to go public.” [read
more]
|
Policy-Making Should Be in the ‘Sunshine’
(11/01/07)
As previously reported, the American Postal Workers Union has filed
a lawsuit challenging the exclusion of the union and representatives
of the general public from access to the Mailers Technical Advisory
Committee. We filed the suit in May, and await a ruling by the U.S.
District Court of the District of Columbia. We are disappointed that
it was necessary to initiate legal action to permit postal employees
and the public to participate in this committee, which was formed to
share technical information, and make recommendations on matters concerning
mail-related products and services. Subjects under discussion by
the committee include service standards, network redesign, rates, new
equipment and many other issues of major importance to the operations
of the nation’s
mail service. [read
more]
Postal Regulatory Commission:
USPS Could Lose Millions in Proposed Deal
(10/29/07) The Postal Service could lose more than $45 million if a proposed
agreement with the Bank of America Corporation is implemented, the
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) concluded in early October, but
the commission decided nonetheless that the agreement could be justified
under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. [read
more]
Anti-Secrecy Lawsuit
(09/01/07) We await a court ruling in the APWU lawsuit against
the Postal Service and the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC)
on the subject of inclusion: The complaint asserts that a public institution
such as the Postal Service cannot engage in secret meetings and deny
membership to all interested and eligible parties.
As it stands, this joint committee of the Postal Service and big mailers discusses and reviews studies on a wide range of issues affecting the American public and postal employees. Recommendations and implementing plans are then presented to the unions as part of a “consultation” process that offers little opportunity to make suggestions for change or present alternatives. This cabal, operating through a series of secret meetings, is essentially running the United States Postal Service. [read more]
|
Burrus Testifies Before Senate:
USPS on Path to Privatization
(07/26/07) The USPS “has begun to travel resolutely down the road
of privatization,” APWU
President William Burrus told a Senate subcommittee on July 25, “without
authorization from Congress” — or the American people. The
subcontracting of postal work, he warned, “is just one aspect of
a dangerous trend: the wholesale conversion of a vital public service
to one performed privately for profit.” [read more]
"It is clear that MTAC is part of the USPS decision-making process. Why should they be allowed to work in secret?" |
Taking MTAC to Task: What Are They Hiding?
(07/01/07)
On May 30, 2007, the American Postal Workers Union filed suit
in United States District Court in an attempt to achieve membership
in and gain access to the records of the Mailers’ Technical
Advisory Committee. The APWU initiated the legal action because
MTAC refused to permit an APWU representative to observe its
meetings or obtain minutes of the proceedings. APWU was joined
in the lawsuit by the Consumer Alliance for Postal Services
(CAPS), a coalition representing consumers and nonprofit mailers. [read
more]
APWU Sues USPS, Advisory Committee
For Conducting Policy-Making in Secret
(06/06/07) The APWU, together with
an organization representing a coalition of consumers and nonprofit mailers,
has filed a suit challenging secret policy-making by a Postal Service advisory
committee. The panel, the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, is made up
of trade associations that represent large business mailers. Co-chaired by
major mailer representatives and postal officials, MTAC — acting through “work groups” — commissions
studies and makes recommendations to senior USPS management on postal
operations, postal rates, and postal regulations. [read
more]
Book Assails Corporate
Influence on Postal Service
(02/20/07) A new book that exposes how
Postal Service operations are being molded to suit the interests of corporate
mailers and USPS competitors at the expense of workers and consumers
has become a “must-read” for
union and community activists. Preserving
the People's Post Office, published by Ralph Nader's Center
for Study of Responsive Law, the book traces the history of recent
postal “reform” efforts and exposes how corporate interests
and conservative ideologues are conspiring in efforts to reshape the
nation’s postal service. [read more]
Enough Is Enough!
(10/25/06) After 15 years of fighting excessive
postage discounts for large mailers, the APWU succeeded in 2004 in
persuading key legislators, mailers, and other interested parties to
include specific restrictions on discounts in pending postal reform
legislation.... The APWU had been the lone voice asserting that discounts
were often excessive; that excessive discounts rob the USPS of desperately
needed revenue; that they shift a disproportionate share of the Postal
Service’s “institutional
costs” from large mailers to small businesses and individual citizens;
and that they amount to a subsidy of private, special interests — a
subsidy provided by the Postal Service and the American people....
Before long, however, the large mailers, USPS management, and their
White House supporters began to renege on their commitment, offering
progressively more watered-down provisions to replace those that had been
agreed upon earlier. [read
more]
 |
A Basic and Fundamental Service
‘Provided To and Supported By the People’
(05/01/06)
... In direct contradiction to the clear intent of the U.S. Constitution
and later laws, postal management has now shifted the focus and purpose
of postal services, replacing service “to the people” with
service “to the business community.”
This transformation has led to the distortion reflected on the cover
of this issue of The American Postal Worker, where corporate CEOs
decide the future of the USPS network while ordinary citizens are excluded.
Decisions, including network redesign and plant consolidations, are
not based on their impact on the people, but on their effect on the
large mailers.
[read more]
